Last April, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a report on the ever-increasing cost of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as the food-stamp program. The CBO pointed out that even if the economy improves, spending on SNAP in fiscal year 2022 will be 60 percent more than it was in FY 2007, right before the Great Recession hit. This would represent "the highest (spending) on all non-health-related federal support programs for low-income households," with a near-record number of people receiving benefits.

This is a clear signal changes are needed, and the CBO made some suggestions. For instance, "categorically eligible" recipients — those who receive benefits solely by virtue of participation in another federal or state aid program; they account for 75 percent of beneficiaries — could be subjected to income and asset tests, reducing participation in the program by 1.8 billion a year for the next decade and saving about $1.2 billion annually. Also, recipients not categorically eligible could be required to have gross income less than or equal to 100 percent of the federal poverty guideline to receive benefits — as opposed to 130 percent now — saving an average of $3.2 billion in each of the next 10 years. (Why not add a work requirement and put a stop to SNAP paying for junk foods and beverages, such as soft drinks, potato chips, cookies, ice cream and the like?)

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like reform will happen soon.

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